Budget reactions mixed
May 15, 2014
The Federal Government’s 2014-
15 budget, released yesterday (PD
14 May) has seen a mixed reaction
from various industry bodies.
Bowel Cancer Australia and the
Cancer Council welcomed a $95.9m
investment over four years to
finalise the National Bowel Cancer
Screening program.
Cancer Council Australia
ceo Professor Ian Olver said
government commitment to
complete the program, introduced
10 budgets ago, would prevent at
least 35,000 bowel cancer deaths
over the next 40 years.
The Pharmaceutical Society of
Australia (PSA) said the government
had missed the opportunity to use
pharmacists to improve health
outcomes, with a PSA budget
submission outlining areas where
pharmacists’ skills could be used,
including to address areas of
unmeet.
National president Grant Kardachi
said the country now had a large
and growing pharmacist workforce
which was highly trained.
“There was a great opportunity
for the Government to show
initiative and use pharmacists to
improve the health and wellbeing
of the community while also
helping to ensure we maintain
a viable and sustainable health
system.”
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia
said the budget had shown further
reductions in Pharmaceutical
Benefits Scheme (PBS) expenditure
and growth, with estimated savings
at $2.1b in 2014-15 growing to
$2.8b in 2017-18.
It said the expenditure forecast
for the 2014-15 financial year was
$2.8b lower than predicted in 2011,
but that no amelioration of price
disclosure impact had been given.
The Consumers Health Forum
(CHF) said the budget “ripped”
$8.5b from the health budget over
four years and the extra charges
to consumers such as the PBS
co-payment increase “shatters”
the notion of universal access to
primary care under Medicare.
CHF ceo Adam Stankevicius said it
imposed a cost barrier to medical
care for those who often needed
it the most and also appeared to
deny the realities of the rise in
chronic illness in Australia.
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